Pain
by Magician'sValkyria1208
Summary: Severitus Challenge fic. Blood magic reveals a dark side to Lily Potter, which will lead to an even bigger revelation for Harry and Professor Snape. Has been REVISED and REPOSTED.
1. Chapter 1

This story has been revised and updated, the chapters will be consolidated and new updates will be added at the end, as usual. I noticed several places that I could improve the quality of writing. The story up to the point I have written so far will not change, only some small details. Please review or email me any suggestions. Thanks!

This story is AU, Severitus  
End of 5th year- Indefinite (I have not written the epilogue yet)  
Canon pairings.  
The return of Sirius Black may or may not occur, I have not decided yet.

Disclaimer : I wish I was JK Rowling. Unfortunately I am not. Otherwise Deathly Hallows would have ended differently. So I don't own most of these characters. Thanks a bunch.

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"_Harry, I wish I had more time to explain to you everything that has been going on over the summer__. I am coming to fetch you before term starts, if you receive this note on or before July 28, I will arrive the 29th to collect you and bring you back to the school to go into hiding,. You are safer in Dumbledore's care than the muggles you share a home with. Severus will be joining me in case there are problems during the travel. Have your things ready when I arrive. Voldemort has been picking off members of the resistance and people in the Ministry have gone increasingly mad. I know losing Sirius was hard, Harry, but we can continue on. Things have come to light Harry, I am confident of your strength to handle them, I can only hope you are emotionally ready." _

_-Remus Lupin_

He poured over the letter another time or two, hands fidgeting and trying to figure out how he could have ten minutes or ten hours before Lupin would show up on his doorstep. Harry estimated that because it wasn't quite lunch time that he had at least until then to try and shove all of his things into the trunk and warn the 'family' downstairs that he wasn't going to be around to finish the chores today.

With that, he rushed downstairs to find the Dursleys sitting around their usual breakfast table.

"BOY? Really? You think ANYTHING is that important for you to burst in here and interrupt our family time?" Uncle Vernon's use of "family time" meant that they were about to eat, their favorite hobby, but Harry had to find a way to tell them his news without starting a riot in the house.

"I'm leaving. In an hour or two, I suppose." The only words he could find were simple, so he stepped back and waited for the reaction.

"Where do you think you're going exactly? Think you're going to run away from here again? I'll have your hide boy, you won't go anywhere under my roof, not out to disgrace us in public!"

Vernon rose from the table to reach out and grab Harry's collar like he usually did, but for once, the young wizard stepped out of reach and held his wand at his uncle.

"My headmaster is sending a personal escort to see me out of here, I would get out of the way if I were you. He finds it urgently important that I leave here as soon as possible."

Vernon and Petunia always froze at the mere mention of "those people." The people the Dursleys family refused to acknowledge. They always manifested themselves at the worst times. The angry head family member seemed like he wanted to reply, but nothing. He went back to his breakfast, red faced. Harry figured this was his "permission" to go.

"Then I don't expect to ever see your ungrateful, bastard face here ever again boy. You'll find no family here. Get your garbage and get out of my house, NOW."

Harry ran up the stairs, and tossed what few belongings he had into the large trunk. He had a strange feeling about this trip. Watching out the tiny window one last time,

He definitely considered the better part of all this though….

He can never come back. This would be the last time he had to suffer this tiny room. This strange hell that had been his home for eleven years and the added summers would no longer plague his nightmares at the end of the school year. He wasn't quite sure where he would end up, but anywhere was better than here.

Lupin showed up a little over a half hour later, scaring the Dursleys into a corner of their living room while the former professor levitated Harry's trunk down the stairs. They started off into the sunlight horizon with pleasant conversation on a broom, and before Harry knew it, he was walking up the familiar steps of Hogwarts with a great smile on his face. This was his sixth year in this place, and he was determined to make the most of everything. This year was going to be different. So was next year. He could tell, Voldemort himself wasn't going to stop him from achieving his dreams.

When Harry Potter fell asleep that night, it was with great expectations. The next morning he began his exploration of the empty castle.

He stepped out into the common room to examine its hollow soundless nature. It was nice being alone in the school, but strange. Strange without the hustle, loud voices, gossip, giggling girls and petty hexes and spells directed at angry house mates. He continued to the library to entertain himself and found old annuals full of photos from past years. His mother and father's face were plastered happily inside the cover of one, waving fiercely. Harry smiled. He was world known for being the living son of these two people.

After spending a few house lingering around the great stone hallways, Harry made his way to Dumbledore's office. He had not seen another living soul all day except knowing that Professor Lupin was asleep still. Snape had not accompanied Remus after all, and Harry didn't particularly care. Even if the old bat was looming around, he'd likely never see him. The man hardly ever came out of the dungeons if he could avoid it.

"Sugar Quill!"

Harry made his way up to the office and found the Headmaster hard at work, rather, playing with one of the trinkets on his desk.

"Professor Dumbledore?"

The old man turned looked up and smiled warmly at Harry.

"I'm glad you decided to visit Harry. This place is so ghostly with so few people around during the summer."

"Can't even imagine, Professor. Do all of the teachers leave for summer holiday?"

"Many of them simply go home or some lovely tropical island where muggles have not yet mapped. But they will return in a week or two to begin preparing for term…ah yes they will. Severus and Remus have made this summer holiday much more 'warming' if possible. It has not been quite so dark and damp with the two here."

"I thought Professor Snape was supposed to come with Lupin to get me from the Dursleys?"

"Yes, he was. However I felt it was safe enough for Remus to accompany you by himself. Professor Snape has been working on something important to me for the past few weeks, so I left him to his work."

"I understand. I don't think I mind Professor Snape not coming, in fact I don't think I would mind if he and I never crossed paths anywhere but in his classroom with the other Gryffindors." The old man chuckled at this, a lot of the students wouldn't hesitate to agree with Harry.

"Do try to understand my boy, Severus is still a human. A reclusive one, but life has put him through more than few others have seen. Take it from me that he can be quite the humorous gentleman, you must simply know him in the strange manner in which I do."

Harry silently agreed with an odd look on his face. He admired Dumbledore greatly but knew he was a few beans short of a box. He turned on his heel to leave on this strange note, before the professor inquired him.

"Harry, I was wondering if you could take a look at something for me, I would like to get your opinion."

Dumbledore picked up a worn, leather-bound journal from his desk. He opened it to a particular page and showed it to Harry.

"I understand that Hagrid gave you a box of letters and photos from your parents a few years ago. Can you determine if this handwriting…if this might be your mother's? It has been far too long for me to remember myself.

Harry took the book from his hand and studied it intensely.

"_I wish I had thought about this before we left Hogwarts, people change so much over time, If I had only known how people sometimes can't be trusted…how they leave their darkest intentions for us to see when no one else is around. I cannot say anything for myself either…if he only knew the intentions I had just a few months ago…"_

It was one of Lily's journals. Harry recognized the handwriting distinctly and nodded while handing the small book back to Dumbledore.

The professor shut the journal promptly and mumbled to himself curiously.

"I see. I had wondered. Remus and Severus both told me the same thing as well. Curious to find such things buried around Hogwarts. Wouldn't you say? Hmmm… oh! I suppose this confirms a few things for me. I must ask you with most seriousness Harry, to return to me tomorrow at the same time. We shall need to have a discussion then about discoveries that Remus and I have made since the summer began. It'll be of utmost importance to you."

He smiled at Harry and waved him out of the door. The young man was now racing with thought about what their conversation would be like tomorrow. He absent mindedly skipped down the stairs with his eyes facing the ground until he walked into a tall, dark, wall of some sort… well rather…. a menacing Professor Snape. He fell backwards and began mumbling an apology.

"I wouldn't be so ignorant Potter, before you fall into the wrong person."

Snape snubbed the boy and walked into the office Harry had just stepped out of.

"I shouldn't expect much out of that git, like he would help anyone off the floor."

Harry got up and went down to the kitchens to get some food. The next few weeks were going to be exponentially strange; he knew that without a doubt.

The next morning Harry attempted to cure his anxious waiting with a game of chess, Lupin was the one person at Hogwarts he was completely unable to defeat at the game.

"Knight to E-5. You know Harry, it seems like yesterday your mum rang me to tell me that you were a chubby brand new baby. Now you're almost a man, it makes me feel like I have aged a whole century since then."

Harry smiled at his friend.

"I feel like that to, Professor Lupin. It's been really…hard for me to accept sometimes. I feel like every time life gets a little better, it takes this horrible downward spiral again. It sucks, I don't know what else I can do. Voldemort's prophecy is just looming over my head and there isn't anything I can do about it right now."

"I wish there was something I could directly do to help you, Harry. I cannot even being to imagine what you have been through. I always thought I had it rough growing up, but it seems someone else always has it worse. You can never forget that you have friends though. You have a family even if they aren't blood. I can promise you this Harry, I will always be here to help you. You can always come to me for anything.

Harry smiled and laughed while he noticeably lost the game of chess again.

"You want to tell me about any of these secrets that might attribute to making this year harder or easier?"

"We'll talk about that with Dumbledore in a little while. Don't worry, I'll be right there with you. Honestly, I don't know what we're going to do exactly. Dumbledore hasn't even told me everything, but it's important to him Harry, so it should be important to you to cooperate."

Lupin flicked one Harry's chess pieces over and laughed. They shook over a good game and started off to walk to the other side of the castle where the headmaster's office was located. Half an hour and conversation later, they muttered the password to the entrance and stumbled in to find Professor Snape in the corner scowling and Professor Dumbledore with an unusual twinkle in his eye.

"Harry! I'm so glad you decided to come up to help me out."

"What exactly am I doing for you, professor?" Lupin looked confused as well, and took a seat in a chair across from Dumbledore's desk. The headmaster picked up an oddly shaped bottle full of a watery, teal potion off of his desk and examined it.

"Harry, in times like these I know one of my wild experiments may seem like the least of importance to you, but, could you humor me if only for this once? I have suspected recently that in discovering your mother's journals, that she and the marauders might have secrets hidden from us. They might be of use to uncover… but I could be wrong about all of it and it will have no meaning. Let's just give it a try, shall we?"

He carried the same soft smile, implying to Harry that whatever this was, it couldn't be that dangerous to Dumbledore. There was no reason not to trust the headmaster, was there?

Snape approached him with a small knife and cut one small arc across his palm swiftly. Harry jumped and yelped in slight pain, struggling while the Professor held his arm completely still with force. He allowed the blood to drip from the knife into an empty glass. He then took the teal potion and poured half of it into the empty bottle with Harry's precious lifeblood in it.

"Albus, I don't know where you get the manic idea for this, but if it doesn't work, I'm going to rebuke you heavily for wasting my time."

Professor Dumbledore had stopped grinning, but was now intensely watching the results of this experiment unfold. The teal liquid began to bubble. Snape set down the bottle and took the clean side of the knife to his own palm, adding a few drops of his blood to the bubbling concoction.

"Err. Professor…What…the bloody hell…"

The potion bubbled and swirled itself into a clear water somehow, sparkling in the sunlight coming through the window in the back of the office.

"Hmmm. I'm not sure if I expected this or not. I think we should confirm whatever this is telling us. Try the potion Harry, I know for sure that it won't harm you."

Everyone in the room was _exceptionally_ confused at this point. Snape mending the small cut in his hand with an irritated look, Remus Lupin was curiously wondering what strange agenda Dumbledore could be working towards…and Harry was hesitant to listen to anything that the seemingly crazy headmaster was telling him to do.

"You sure it won't cause any long-term side effects?"

Lupin nudged Harry, as to simply follow the order. These were Dumbledore's orders, after all, what harm could really come of it?

Harry reluctantly took the glass and emptied it of its contents. He cringed afterwards and wiped his lips. The two professors and Lupin watched him intently.

"I don't understand what that was supposed….."

Harry was cut off by an intense pain in his stomach.

"I'm not so sure you haven't made a mistake, Headmaster."

"He's been under blood magic Severus, it's going to un-wind itself from the inside out."

Lupin looked extremely worried now

"I thought you said it wouldn't harm him!? Headmaster, I…!"

Harry remembered simply feeling as though his intestines were twisting in several directions and pulling from all ways. He squeezed his eyes shut, and before he knew it. All was black, and peaceful.


	2. Chapter 2

"_He's stirring a little, I think he might wake up soon."_

Harry could hear a voice. It sounded like Madam Pomfrey.

"Dear God, Headmaster what have you done?" Footsteps loudly clacked against the stone floor and rushed towards him.

Harry was fully awake, but he couldn't open his eyes or move suddenly. His body seemed like it was in a forced sleep. He couldn't fight it, and even though he had tried pulling himself out of it, he felt it a losing battle, and slipped back into peaceful unconsciousness almost immediately.

"What have we done to him? I don't understand…Harry has been through so much Dumbledore. I don't see why he deserves whatever we've done."

"I am worried for Harry to. However, this is truth and truth doesn't like to be hidden. I truly did not know the extent that this discovery would bring it to. It is quite fascinating actually. All because of Lily Evans. She must have been far more gifted than any of us gave her credit for."

Lupin crossed his arms and looked deep in thought...

"Why would Lily delve into such dark magic? That wasn't the Lily I knew. None of us would have been friends with her at Hogwarts if she had been into the Dark Arts."

"Everyone has dark secrets, Remus. Not all of them come to light, and Lily almost completely hid hers. You wouldn't have known with the illicit affair she carried on with one of your classmates either, did you?"

"Affair? How did you come about this information Headmaster?"

Dumbledore shrugged and didn't reply directly for a moment.

"Remus, I will have to show you the result of this discovery. But, I shall explain. I found a journal of Lily's from her time in the Order, tucked away curiously in a book in the library. It detailed a brief affair with another student, a friend of hers. It also detailed the months in which her marriage to James Potter occurred and the most certainly immediate conception of her son. She explained that her son was not the product of her marriage. Due to her fascination with dark blood magic she was able to use this to her own benefit. She was able to disguise the identity of the father of her son through this magic."

Lupin shook his head. It seemed like nothing was sacred anymore.

"At least that seems like a plausible story, I'm almost inclined to believe it, but one thing doesn't make sense to me."

"What doesn't make sense, dear Remus?"

"I'm not sure I can think of anyone who would be the illegitimate father of Harry. Lily loved James; they were so inseparable in school. She wasn't that kind of person. She was so pure, so kindhearted…"

"When I first thought about what this discovery could mean if it were true...I questioned – and for a moment I still do question- if uncovering this is the best thing for Harry. He will probably hate me for this. I don't know what this will mean for his future. "

Remus looked absolutely distraught for Harry.

"We need to be there for him, no matter what Remus. For now, let's see what we have uncovered."

The curtain was pulled back, and a resting Harry Potter, or at least that was who Remus Lupin saw last by that name, was lying peacefully in the hospital bed. Dumbledore was not even entirely sure what to expect. For once in a long time, Lupin felt like he had the breath knocked out of him.

"Hmmm. Surprisingly handsome, you know? Maybe this suits him better than James's genes."

"I don't know what you're thinking headmaster, but if this is supposed to be some kind of joke, you've done a great job… "

Dumbledore sat down on the foot of the bed, and gently rustled Harry to awaken him.

"Harry…are you with us, boy? Harry? Can you get up?"

He finally came out of his unconsciousness and found way to open his eyes. Alertness slowly came to and he noticed a calm Dumbledore and a seemingly shocked Remus Lupin at the foot of his bed.

"Poppy's remedies have worked well to get you rested and back with us. Tell me, how are you feeling?"

Harry could not read the expression on Lupin's face. It seemed too awkward. Shocked even. Was something wrong?

"I feel okay now. I guess. Ugh, I feel like I've been asleep for too long. That pain…that was unbearable. What happened to me?! Headmaster, you told me that it wouldn't hurt me, I didn't think it would have side effects. What's wrong? I've obviously had to be in the hospital wing for some time now. I think I deserve to know what the hell went wrong!"

"The potion worked, it worked extraordinarily well. It must have been powerful to undo so much blood magic."

"Blood magic?"

The awkward silence lingered for a moment. This was some sort of intense moment for everyone in the room. No one except Dumbledore seemed to understand what had just happened.

"It's a complicated story Harry. Honestly, I am apologizing now. I had no idea… I never imagined how deep this whole story went. It was complete accident that I stumbled on this information. I suspected that you had some glamour spells or a blood spell inside of you that was hiding something after I read your mother's journal. We removed them with the potion Severus made for us…but I didn't know there was going to be such a difference. I'm sorry Harry, I'm so sorry."

With a simple transfiguration, the tray next to Harry's bed formed into a shining mirror and the boy snatched it up to look at his new reflection.

"My God Harry. I don't even recognize you!" Lupin finally got close enough to Harry to touch him, the boy looked so foreign that he found it hard to even call him by his name.

The sheer anxiety and fear that Harry Potter was feeling was so intense that he thought his scar might burst open. The scar…he felt around his face and found it in the same place…that was almost relief. He held the mirror to his face and forced his eyes open, but almost instantly, the three of them all jumped when Harry dropped the mirror and shattered it.

Remus tried to calm him, he was hyperventilating and pulling at his hair. He suddenly felt sick, his stomach lurching and his heart racing.

"But...but...what...that had to have been a trick...a sick joke...

"Please, please Harry, calm down. Calm down. Your face is different, yes, but that doesn't change you are. We know it's you Harry."

The sixteen year old looked down at ivory hands with long slender fingers. He moved back the blankets and found that his skin had entirely taken on this shade. His legs were longer, and his frame didn't feel sharply thin anymore.

"I still…I don't understand…please Headmaster. Undo this, whatever this is!"

"As hard as this would be to believe Harry, this is what you were _supposed_ to look like. What you were meant to be. "

Harry's face was racked with fear and tears were starting to form on the edges of his emerald green eyes.

"I don't understand…What's been done to me Dumbledore?"

The old man tried to smile softly again, a gentle hand rustling the boys hair to calm him.

"You're a serpent prince Harry, that's the simplest way to put it."

"What the hell? What the hell, Professor! I DON'T think this is funny! "

The anger radiating through Harry's green eyes was dark and pulsing. His hands were balled into tight fists, and Remus had to restrain him while Dumbledore carefully explained the details of Lily's journal. The possibility, though now confirmed idea that James Potter was not his biological father.

"Hell, I go through hell and back and you trick me into some unimaginable pain. Now you're telling me that my mother was some whore, and that everything I've ever known is a damned lie!"

"Harry! Respect, Dumbledore was trying to do what's best for you! You don't understand and neither do I, but we'll deal with this. Truth is truth, Harry. We can't change it."

"Professor Lupin is right, my boy. You shouldn't be so haste to anger. I understand that you, of all students here, of any boy in the wizarding world, deserve to know what goes on in your life. You deserve to be upset. You deserve the right to cry and be frustrated with all of this, but we cannot change what we are. I'm afraid this is truth now. We'll have to work with it and move on with our lives, but that's' why there are people who care about you Harry. This could be good for you…I believe it to be…

Dumbledore almost trailed off before Harry gave him a desperate look.

"James Potter is my father. He has to be, everyone says I'm just like him...I look just like him..."

Distress was about everyone in the room.

"Harry, I know it would be difficult taking in any such news. James loved you as a son, either way. It would have made no difference to him. Lily was still your mother who loved you enough to give her life in exchange for your own and your protection. That story will never change. This news though… it means you are not an orphan anymore. I know who your father is Harry. In fact, I know him personally."

"I don't like the odds of that, Professor. I…can't call myself anything but James and Lily's son. I thought I saw some resemblance in that reflection… I can almost see it now and I… I refuse to believe that…that _bastard_ got anywhere near my mother…"

"I wondered if you could make the connection. I often underestimate your true wit and intelligence Harry. Please forgive me, but it almost pleases me to think of what transpired between Lily Evans and Sever…"

Harry flinched and screamed in interruption at Dumbledore.

"Don't go any further. If you _dare_ tell me what I think you want to tell me, I'll just off myself right here and now."

Remus looked more distraught. He grabbed Harry's wrists and they started to flail about and forced him still.

"You must understand, Harry, what is now; cannot be undone. Nobody can change who your parents are. Not even magic."

The tears spilled over and wet the pillows beneath him. Harry wrestled himself loose of Lupin's grasp and kicked the sheets off of his hospital bed. He stood up, struggling to regain balance after so long in bed. The height difference was making him dizzy, and he fell into the fatherly embrace of the headmaster.

"You deserve to cry, Harry. Don't be afraid. This will all be for the better, somehow."

Madam Pomfrey wrote off her unknown patient and allowed him to leave with Dumbledore's permission a few hours later. Harry stumbled across the cold floor, barefoot and dressed in a baggy t-shirt and shorts. He absently wandered down the halls, eventually ending up outside Gryffindor tower. After muttering the password that Lupin had given him, he collapsed into a soft spot on his bed. His face buried in his hands, dark hair falling around his face. He decided to dig through his trunk, maybe to find some clothes that fit better than the ones Pomfrey had given him.

But, as he so dejectedly figured out, his clothes no longer fit him well at all. Three was at least three or four inches in height difference now, his chest had filled out with some muscle, his shoulders more broad than they had been.

"What happened to me.."

His hair now touched his jaw line. With this difference he went to the bathrooms to find a tall mirror and observed the face of someone he didn't recognize.

His face was stretched across high cheekbones and was finished with a slightly aristocratic nose that had a slight point to it. He would think highly of his appearance now if it weren't so much for the supposed father he had inherited these traits from. His green eyes were still intensely gem-colored and he would have worn Lily's gentle smile, if his expression wasn't distraught and carrying hot tears.

It ceased to amaze Harry how life would never let him be.

_In the dungeons..._

"Severus, you understand the consequences of this. I honestly didn't believe it at first either, but it can't be denied now. I've seen him Severus, he's living proof."

Dumbledore went to lay a hand on the raged teacher who was pacing his quarters restlessly.

"He's afraid. I know you are to, Severus, but you both cannot deny each other. He needs a father; he's always needed a father. "

"I am not. I am not fit to father anyone. I will most certainly not accept being the father of good for nothing Potter! "

Lupin watched the two bicker and go back and forth about the delicate situation.

"If you don't just accept it, you will regret it forever Snape. Just take the Headmaster's advice. You could be good for him. As unlikely as this whole situation is."

"DAMN IT ALL! Don't you understand Headmaster? Lily and I have NO son. She used me, she used me to relieve herself of James for a short period of time. I was nothing else to her, She wouldn't have allowed anything to come of it!"

"I suppose I shouldn't have expected any less of a reaction from you, Severus. This is imperative, absolutely imperative and you know that. Severus Snape, you are the father of Lily Evan's son, and together we can all get through this, but you need to face the responsibility and stop running away."

The headmaster held his peaceful composure easily, while Snape looked as though he was angry enough to hex Voldemort himself into another millennia if he was accused again of fathering Harry Potter. He angrily threw open the door and stormed out.

"You said we need to talk to the insolent boy, are we going or do I need to change my mind?!"

Snape's anger was radiating the same way Harry's had just a little while earlier. Lupin silently prayed that this insanity would be dealt with somehow. That nobody would be hurt…that Dumbledore really did know what was best.


	3. Chapter 3

Dumbledore swiftly followed Snape back to his office and sent Lupin to look for the young man.

"Don't rush, Remus. I'm going to try and talk to Severus. Go find Harry and check on him…bring him back here in a little while."

So Lupin wandered the castle, calling his friend's name and desperately searching, hoping that Harry hadn't run off somewhere or done something stupid. A wave of relief washed over him when he found the sixth year sitting just outside the front steps of Hogwarts in the grass. He was curled up, his arms wrapped around himself and his face buried in his knees.

"Harry? Harry…hey. Are you alright?"

He walked down the steps and sat next to the boy. He had donned a pair of denim shorts and the same black, baggy t-shirt. Remus was worried half to death about Harry, but couldn't look at him without seeing Snape. Even so, Lily's features were so much more prevalent in him now. The shape of his eyes and set of his cheeks were all from Lily, and Remus felt a pang of sadness being reminded of his fallen friend from adolescence.

"It's alright. I'll be fine, Lupin. You don't have to…worry. You should just leave me alone."

Life hadn't been fair to the boy-who-lived, and anyone who actually knew him was well aware of this fact. It wasn't fair that Harry was having his very identity ripped away from him, and for him to cry like he had when they lost Sirius in the Department of Mysteries.

"I'm glad to say that I know you well enough to know when you're lying to me, Harry. You were never a great liar, kid. Of all people, I understand what it's like to feel like the world's been ripped out from underneath you Harry. My friends and family were all taken from me just like they were taken from you. I wish I could say I had been there for you…that I had been through it all to, but I can be here for you. You're like the godson I never had, Harry. Let me try to help you through this."

Harry acknowledged his words with a nod, but said nothing. The boy rubbed his eyes excessively and stretched his legs, finally looking up at the pink and gold horizon that the sun was setting over.

"I know you understand me, Remus. I'm glad you've been there and you've tried to help me understand all this confusion that my past brings up. Honestly, I don't know how much more I can take here. I've never felt this angry in my life…I've never had this hatred pulsing through me. I just want to rip off Dumbledore's head for what he's done to me. I don't care if it's the truth or not…this just isn't fair…this isn't me. It never will be."

The boy was so angry; the powerful magic stored in his slender frame was adding to the heat building in his face.

"You know, forgive me Harry. Snape…he's on our side. Dumbledore trusts that man with his life. Of all people…and I mean of all people I would never have expected this situation to apply to Severus, but I knew he loved your mother. He would have gladly died in her place for her. I think he wanted to after what happened to her and James. He obviously cares…I mean…if he…well he is your biological father. That's got to count for something, right?"

Harry would have gotten up to leave, but Lupin had him by the wrist and tried to reason with him.

"You know your parents would have wanted someone to look after you. Sirius wouldn't have wanted his sacrifice to be in vain. I know its hard, Harry. But you've got to give this a try."

Harry convinced Lupin and Dumbledore to let him have a day or two to himself to think things over. He wasn't sure that he could face both of them again in the same room. He sure as hell wasn't ready to face Snape. This all seemed like a dream, or rather a nightmare that he would wake up from if he just fell asleep and let it drift away.

So the boy-who-lived secluded himself in Gryffindor tower for the night, and almost didn't dare to leave the room for several hours the next day. He had to avoid them, he couldn't risk running into anyone right now.

He couldn't even face himself yet.

Dinner time the next day, Harry found himself in Dumbledore's office again, alone with the headmaster to try and figure things out.

"I can't reset blood magic, Harry. It's not my area of expertise. I don't think it's wise to try and reconfigure something that involves such complex magic. We'll make do, I promise. I'll let your father decide what name we should give you…what your story should be…"

The words stung more than an angry hornet.

"I'm…not calling him father. I won't. You know that Professor. I cant even…look at him. Does…he even know yet?

"I have spoken with him, yes. He insisted on being able to sit down and talk to you as well. At this very moment, I'm not sure if it's best for you two to try and talk, but you must try at some point. It'll kill you both if you don't try to work something out."

Harry shook his head at the thought and walked away from Dumbledore's desk. He walked out into the hall and took a sharp left. The paintings gave him intense stares, so he picked up his pace down the next hallway. He could hear Lupin back in the office getting upset with Dumbledore about Harry's state of emotional being. Harry let the wind catch his hair as he started to run. Every hallway seemed like another obstacle in his search for freedom for the castle walls, so focused on getting away from Dumbledore and running outside that he failed to notice that he almost collided with Professor Snape, who when saw a foreign being running at full speed to get out of the castle, followed after him with a stun spell.

The young man fell down the front steps of Hogwarts and felt his ankle crack. Laying on the ground, his face in the grass, his limbs magically bound to nothing and unable to move. Fear took over and the tears started to form again as a black-shrouded mass approached him in his peripheral vision.

"I suggest you start with telling me exactly what the hell you were doing and who you are, as your failure to outrun whoever it is you are trying to get away from has only begun here with me."

The potions professor dragged the boy into a sitting position and knelt down to stare the accused in the face. Harry's vision was slightly blurry from his head hitting the ground at full force, and couldn't focus in on the familiar face.

"Pr. P..proff..professssorr…" was the jumble of words that Harry tried to mutter in his defense.

When Professor Snape tilted the boy's head up to stare him in the eyes, the realization and recognition slowly washed over his face. His jaw slowly became unhinged and his black eyes were no longer accusing and focused, but full of absolute terror.

"P…POTTER?"

The boy responded slightly to his name, he tried to look up at Snape, who was fallen back on his rear and his wand laying on the ground. For once in his life since his years at Hogwarts, Severus was completely defenseless and vulnerable.

Harry tried to shake off the dizziness, and his hair fell out of his eyes where the professor could see the all too familiar lightning shaped scar and emerald green eyes that had haunted him for years. When the professor finally made the connection and found his wand to revoke the stunning spell, a tiny trickle of blood seeped down the side of the boy's face and his vision started to go black.

Snape threw the boy over his shoulder and carried him as fast as he could back to the hospital wing, completely unprepared for what he was facing.

Harry woke up again in the hospital wing, and was relieved to see that the sun was still bright and hadn't begun to set yet. Maybe he had only been out for an hour this time. His head hurt, and Dumbledore was again sitting in a chair next to his bed smiling.

"We always keep ending up here don't we?"

He offered Harry a goblet of pumpkin juice as the youth sat up and threw his legs over the side of the bed to get up.

"Don't leave just yet. Severus… he wanted to talk to you before you went back to your dormitory."

Harry snorted almost with laughter and half anger.

"That bastard is the one that put me here, what the hell does he want?"

Dumbledore seemed a little off put by Harry's lack of respect and leaned in to make sure Harry understood how serious he was.

"He wanted to apologize for his transgression, Harry. I would remember that he is your authority figure and deserves the respect you are lacking for him. You should stay here and read for a little while until Severus comes to find you. You would do well to listen what he has to say."

Dumbledore quickly disappeared from the doorway after his words and left Harry to doze off in the sunlight. The boy slept lightly, dreaming of loud footsteps and a calm gentle voice calling his name over and over.

Over and over and over…until it was loud enough to be next to his ear.

"Harry…Potter? Potter…Potter!"

With a jump and crash as Harry twitched and knocked over the goblet on his table next to his bed, he found himself face to face with Professor Snape again, who was sitting in the chair Dumbledore had occupied earlier.

Even a blind man couldn't deny the resemblance.

"Prof..Professor…I'm sorry.. I must have dozed off!"

The older man looked as lost as a deer staring into headlights.

"That really is you, Potter?"

"Uhh…well. Yeah, professor…I'm still Harry Potter." Harry's voice was soft, and almost frightened.

"I…I am sorry for the incident outside. I did not recognize you…I should have hesitated before reacting like I did…"

If Harry had stopped to consider the man's apology for a moment, he might have wondered if he was actually talking to the same Severus Snape.

"No kidding, you could have killed me, and you wouldn't have given a damn, would you?!"

Professor Snape had some unreadable expression. Somewhere he was considering the fact that for the first time, he was speaking face to face with his son. The son that had taken after his father. The son who he had also nearly killed just an hour before.

He was also contemplating the fact that he was speaking to Harry Potter at the same time, and had nearly killed him just an hour before.

Snape had no other words, but made his way for the door as his heart and thoughts raced.

"_You're a right bastard, you know. Now look what you've done."_

The first thought father and son had shared.


	4. Chapter 4

Dumbledore wasn't entirely pleased to learn how the confrontation between the youth and professor had turned out.

Harry admitted that he should have held his smart remarks. Now it was he who owed Professor Snape an apology.

Now the boy sat alone in his dormitory, legs crossed on the bed with the box of his parents photos and letters in front of him. He fondly remembered the days as a twelve year old second year, fawning over this photos, proudly thinking that –he- was the youngest quidditch player in a hundred years because his father had been one of the best Hogwarts had ever seen.

His mother was an incredibly smart muggle-born witch who excelled in Transfiguration, Charms and Arithmacy.

He wasn't sure what to believe anymore about himself. He had always had a deep love for his parents, even if he had never known them personally. He still felt the same love for them, and if for some reason he tried to build a relationship with Professor Snape, would he be betraying their memory?

His mother obviously didn't want anyone to know her secret.  
James wouldn't have wanted to claim a child that wasn't really his.  
And this whole boy-who-lived thing added into the equation didn't really help either.

Lupin had brought Harry some dinner and tried to cheer him up with a promise of a playful quidditch practice the next day. He could have that to look forward to. Something to take his mind off the situation at hand.

Snape had done nothing but pace in his rooms since the confrontation. He couldn't take his mind off how pained and hateful those green eyes had been.

Her eyes.

That was the second time in his life that he had seen –her- eyes look at him that way, the first being the worst memory of his life, calling Lily that horrible name. The fight that ensued between them afterwards had nearly destroyed him.

That fight had driven her into James's arms, and after Lily realized he wasn't all he claimed to be, she tried to make up with him. She had sought after him, night after night sneaking back to Spinner's End to see him.  
Those would have been the happiest days of his life, if the Dark Lord hadn't been at large and Severus Snape being a Death Eater.

She had to have loved him more than he ever knew, because she forgave his mistake in joining the Death Eaters and tried desperately talking him into leaving. She succeeded in making him see the error of his ways, but he had fallen into fate's hands when she became pregnant and the prophecy came to light.

Why had he told Voldemort?

Was it to get back at James?

Was it partially to get back at Lily for running back to James every night when they were finished?

If he had only known that the child had been his all along.

Not only did he have to learn to live with sentencing the love of his life to a death sentence, he had murdered his child's mother as well.

Anyone who could see him now would know they were staring at guilt, incarnate.

He had to remedy this. Somehow. He had to try to talk to the boy again.

Harry Potter was his son, was Lily's son.

It wasn't just about himself anymore. This wasn't just the guilt of Severus Snape. His love for Lily had never died. That lingering image in his head, the fantasy of holding Lily at his side and calling her wife, while she held a bubbly child in her arms.

Severus was more determined than ever to talk to Dumbledore and Harry again tomorrow. Maybe Remus could give him some advice on how to talk to the boy without upsetting him.

After attempting to sleep through the night, the potions master sought Dumbledore's company then next morning.

"We've got to do something about this Severus, or you won't last the week under this kind of stress."

Albus had a definite twinkle in his eyes, as though he believed everything was truly alright already.

"I tried going to him to offer an apology for injuring him. He wouldn't hear it Albus, he's a stubborn as –

"You? I wholly agree, Severus. I was surprised to see how many traits you two actually share. I wanted to discuss his situation with you anyway. I think he's outside with Remus right now, go talk to him and tell him to bring Harry in for a little while and we'll all try to talk. I do not believe in the slightest that Harry hates you, Severus. He's confused and mislead right now, and remember that like you, he's seen far more than anyone his age should have to deal with. He is just a teenager, give him some time and he'll come around, if what you want to build a relationship with your son."

Dumbledore went to his cabinets and found some parchment to begin writing a letter to a contact within the Ministry of Magic.

"How will we possibly cover this with the Minister? Voldemort, even?"

"Allow me to take care of the fine details Severus. I have contacts in the Ministry that will help ensure Harry's safety during the transition. Someone will have to impersonate Harry, as when he looked like James, so they can't suspect any of us having anything to do with his disappearance. "

"He'll have to take an entirely new identity then."

"And you'll have to come up with some ingenious story to explain why nobody ever knew you could procreate, Severus."

Dumbledore laughed to himself and left a flustered Snape to flee the office and find Remus and Harry, which sounded much more bearable than hearing Albus make jokes about his 'personal' life.

The sun was exceptionally bright today, and Severus, who was particular fan of the dark and dreary, didn't know if this was a good or bad omen of how the day would continue. He unclasped the black cloak from his shoulders and unbuttoned the high-necked tunic that he wore under his robes, When Harry and Lupin saw a casually dressed Snape stroll from behind a column onto the quidditch field, they were both sure that hell had indeed frozen over and that Voldemort had adopted kittens.

"Severus? Is there something we can help you with?" Lupin landed his broom and brushed the wind-blown debris off of his jacket while Snape approached him.

"Albus wants to see you and the boy in his office soon. He's called the Ministry to have a registrar sent here and devise a cover-up for Potter."

Lupin scratched his head with a smile on his face.

"Right, I understand. We'll come up in a few minutes after Harry finishes his laps around the field."

Snape nodded quickly and turned to leave the awkward conversation at it's current place.

"Really, Severus? You should stay out here and watch him, the kid can really fly."

The dark haired professor looked straight up and noticed a colorful blur buzzing around the castle several hundred feet off the ground.

"I'm…well aware of his talents, Lupin. I won't deny that he's the best player Hogwarts has got."

Remus smiled and put a hand on Snape's shoulder.

"He looks just like you. It really suits him well. Even more so than James's messy hair and big round glasses."

The fluster returned to Professor Snape's face as his eyes fell to the grass.

"I..I see a lot more of Lily in him than before. He's got her face. He's lucky for that."

The two men almost shared a small laugh.

"Don't be too jealous now. I'm sure he's relieved to not have inherited that nose of yours, but I'm pretty sure that sallow skin tone and pointed jaw are all you, Severus."

As though on cue, Harry landed his broom several feet away from where they were standing and began to remove his outer layer of pads and cloak. He pretended that Snape and Lupin weren't carrying on a conversation about himself and carried his stuff past them, into the castle, ignoring their very existence.

"Potter…I'm fairly certain he hates me, Remus. I'm not going to bet on this going anywhere anytime soon. I'm not sure he's ready…nor am I fit…"

Lupin turned to meet the black eyes with his own blue.

"Don't give up on him so fast, Severus. None of us expected this, I know you least of all. He needs this, he's never had a real family before. Nobody is ever truly ready to face being a parent. If you get to talk to him, just tell him how you feel. He's not going to come around overnight, but it's not going to take him until Albus croaks either."

With that, Snape turned to leave again and noticed the sixteen year old watching him intently. He felt the sickly nervousness return to his stomach. Their eyes met for a moment or two, and Harry's expression turned into one of slight confusion. Snape tore his gaze away and walked back into the castle, his eyes never lifting from the ground in front of him. Harry stood completely still while Snape walked directly past him, coming only a foot from the person he really needed to talk to the most.

"Professor?"

Severus froze on spot and turned to look back at the boy. The intensely strange feeling of staring at himself as a Hogwarts student again filled his thoughts for a moment until he found the heart to speak.

"The headmaster wants to see you and Lupin as soon as possible. I'm on my way there myself."

Harry's face relaxed a little and he nodded.

"Right…I'll be right up. Thanks professor."

Snape felt himself release a tightly held breath and he nearly ran up the stairs to get away from the boy. Harry mimicked the motion, relaxing his shoulders and feeling the tension lessen as his father walked away.

Right now, not even Voldemort could scare either of them as much as they scared each other.

"Lupin, what am I going to do? I can't even…talk to him..'

"Don't worry about it Harry, I know he feels the tension to. He really does care about this, don't doubt that. He's confused, like you. He probably feels a lot like you do right now. Give him a chance, okay kid?"

Harry shook his head and started up the stairs with his former professor to face whatever it was that the headmaster wanted to deal with today. The walk seemed far too short, as they entered the wooden door and found Albus Dumbledore and Severus Snape sitting casually with a strange bald old man carrying a stack of parchment strolling across the room.

"Hello again Lupin! Harry! I made some tea since we might be up here for a while. Make yourselves completely comfortable. I called Mr. Failsa to help us sort out some logistics."

The awkward tension in the room increased dramatically.

"Everything we discuss here will be regarded with the utmost security, so don't fear about anyone finding out that shouldn't. First and foremost, Jared Failsa, is a nephew of mine from my brother's first marriage. He works in the social office at Ministry and should help us sort out this identity situation. Jared, meet Remus Lupin and Harry Potter."

Harry gave a slight wave and Remus shook the old man's hand.

"The great Harry Potter, it's a pleasure to meet you. We've all heard so much. Your headmaster has taken the time to explain your current predicament at hand in detail to me. If you and your father are willing to work with the headmaster in developing a new name and story, I'll handle all the legal parts of it and make sure your ass is covered, in blunt terms!"

This strange man and Dumbledore shared the same great smile.

"Now, the difficult part. I've wondered if having Remus impersonate you for a time will dissuade anyone from association the new Snape family member from the name Harry Potter. Nobody can suspect you if they see you both in the same room, correct? That shouldn't be hard to come by."

Harry looked sick, and small beads of sweat were forming on Severus's forehead. He didn't want to talk about this in detail, he didn't want to face this directly yet, but he had no choice.

"Severus! We have to name him! We'll also have to disguise his scar, somehow. You should think of a relative that's been 'keeping' your son for you in secret for the past decade. You told me once that you have several cousins and a half brother, don't you?"

This was the first time Harry had gained any background information on Snape at all, and the potions professor looked a little hesitant to spill his personal details to the headmaster and some stranger.

"Err…Yes. I do, have a half-brother by my father. We don't converse. I've only met him a handful of times and he doesn't take well to me. My mother's side of the family isn't fond of me, because I'm half-blooded, but they tolerate the fact that I'm the oldest heir. I have a cousin…Mayleesa Prince…if I can contact her then I'm sure she'll be willing to work out a story with us about keeping him hidden…"

Lupin looked at Snape curiously, as this was the most he had ever heard him speak of anything personal since they had known each other as schoolmates. Remus remembered specifically when Snape's mother had passed away during their seventh year and that being the most he had ever delved into the man's personal life.

"We'll floo connect with her later, if that's possible. I should like to have this polished up as soon as physically possible. Your son's mother passed away during childbirth. You had just joined Voldemort's network and therefore left him with relatives to be cared for in a neutral environment. Now he just needs a name and a resource of education. We can draw up some fake enrollment records from another school. So lastly, the fun part!"

Dumbledore was rambling on excessively like a happy old coot. Severus was slightly irritated with him, as was Harry.

"Severus, he needs a name."

Harry's eyes immediately darted to Professor Snape with a glare. He didn't quite know what to expect. He hadn't even directly conversed with the man yet about his parentage.

"I can give you a couple of names…but ultimately…shouldn't…the boy decide what his name should be?"

Lupin turned to Harry and smiled.

"You got any favorites, kid?"

Harry shook his head, preferring to speak as little as possible at the moment. Dumbledore drew out parchment and quill, scribbled a few things down and passed the list to Severus, who after scrutinizing it and scratching out something distinctly, looked at Harry and considered what he should do next.

"My father…Tobias Snape…doesn't deserve to have anyone named for him. My uncle's name is probably better…Uh. Harry…you should decide for sure."

With a simple stretch of his arm, he handed the parchment to the boy and watched him with a concerned expression. Harry read the particular name Snape had pointed out and made a strange expression.

"Yeah. I've never heard that name before…but I'll…deal with it. I don't mind it so much."

Dumbledore reached across the desk and snatched the paper from Harry, smiling as he wrote in the name on another parchment, as though that made it official.

"Romen Snape then? Full name…Romen Aryan Severus Snape. It's Latin, really formal…"

He rambled on as Harry looked back at the professor and simply nodded his head once. Snape wasn't sure what this meant, but hopefully…it was testament to a possibility of this not all going horribly wrong.

Romen Snape.

It kind of fit him already. Lupin shrugged his shoulders in agreement and continued smiling.

"Right then, I'll take care of the enrollment forms. You're welcome to leave now, Romen."

"Well…you're not wasting any time headmaster. I'll…be outside."

"Oh and by the way, I had your trunk and belongings moved into your father's rooms in the dungeons. It's in the far east wing of the dungeon near the door to the Slytherin common room. You should like the space well enough."

Harry's eyes widened simultaneously with Professor Snape's.

This was going to be very interesting.


	5. Chapter 5

When the day was ending, Harry found himself eating a small dinner with Lupin and unwilling to report back to Snape at the end of the day. It seemed wrong. When Dumbledore addressed him by his new name, it seemed like the most awful thing in the world.

"I would tell you not to look so down, but I know I'm getting repetitive and you're going to be really annoyed with me if I keep trying to pep you up."

For the first time in two days, Harry laughed a little.

"You're getting it now, Lupin. You tell me if you'd rather be a werewolf or the son of the Hogwarts potions master?"

Remus humorously considered this for a moment before shrugging his shoulders and claiming that they were both of equal abhorrence. The two laughed over a game of chess until late into the night, when after much encouragement from Lupin, they walked all the way down to the dungeons for Harry to see his new residence.

"He's probably already asleep, right? I don't want to deal with him right now…I still don't want to talk to him yet. Uhhh…I haven't even been in his private rooms before…what do I do? What's his password?"

"I don't think he has one, my rooms didn't have one when I stayed here."

"So we have to knock?"

"We have to knock."

They both were slightly apprehensive at waking up the sleeping professor, but Lupin held his breath for a moment and knocked loudly, waiting for the loud yelling in return, but it never came.

"Should we try…again? I mean I can always go back up to Gryffindor tower and sleep there…"

Lupin held him by the collar and knocked again, when a slow steady set of footsteps came from behind the door, and a slow creaking filled their ears as the giant wooden door swung open.

"I'm sorry if we woke you, Severus. I was occupying Harry's time and lost track of how late it was getting. I'll take the blame for him."

Snape just looked at him for a moment. He was in a simple grey nightshirt and black house pants.

"No, you didn't wake me. I was reading in my study. I'll see him to bed, Remus. It's alright for now, just do not let it happen after term starts. He'll have a curfew then, I imagine."

Lupin smiled and gave Harry a strong pat on the back before starting back up the stairs.

"Goodnight Severus, Harry!"

This left an incredibly awkward silence between the two relatives standing on either side of the doorway. Harry's eyes were focused on the stone floor, as he walked past the professor and looked up to survey his new surroundings.

"Your trunk is in the bedroom on your right. That's where Dumbledore brought your belongings."

Harry didn't respond quite yet. The Snape quarters were…interesting to observe. He had his own small common area and study, with several spare rooms and a restroom off to the left and right. It wasn't bare, but it wasn't overly decorated and almost had a warm feeling to it. The fireplace crackled in the corner, and Harry could see stacks of books standing in various places.

"Right, sir. I guess I'll go and get ready for bed…"

They exchanged glances and Snape nodded as Harry darted for the doorway that was to be his bedroom. He unpacked his trunk nervously, finding some more clothes that Lupin had lent to him since he had outgrown his old ones.

"Potter."

The simple name caused the tension in the air to heighten a little, but Harry didn't feel so threatened by him this time…something was different about Professor Snape today.

"Yes, professor?"

He turned to look over the older version of himself. At least the Snape aged well for being a double-agent spy for the two most powerful wizards in existence…

Either way…the man still looked tense, but he took a deep breath and looked him in the eyes as he talked.

"I know we haven't been able to talk about…anything. I really did mean to apologize for the incident in which you were injured. That was completely my fault."

The boy raised an eyebrow but didn't break their brief connection.

"Albus has taken care of the fine details for now…and you shouldn't have to answer to anyone until the new school year begins."

The professor looked as though he was struggling to find words. Deep down, Snape really did want to snap at the 'irresponsible' Potter for being in his way and getting injured earlier, but that wasn't going to help the situation at hand.

"You nor I are exceptionally happy to learn of our relation, I'm sure of that. However, this can't be changed. I have a son, now. That's a responsibility I need to take."

"I understand that, professor, but I've been on my own for the majority of my life. If you're not up to the job, then you shouldn't try."

"Listen, boy! For once, stop being as hard-headed as your mother was. I'm only going to say this once. I'm most certainly not going to ignore the fact that _I'm_ your father, even if I don't consider myself very prepared for the position. I am willing to _try_, and that's all I can do for now, if you care."

The ice was broken now, and both of them had to openly admit their relation to the other and their feelings about it.

"My entire life has been a lie, and it's been fed to me for sixteen years. I can't trust Dumbledore, I've lost Sirius and sometimes Lupin is too focused on his job in the Order to try and relate to me. I've got no one and I've never had anyone to count on except for my friends."

In a soft but grim voice, Snape agreed with Harry.  
"You're not the only one who feels that way about life."

"So, Professor… If you're…willing to try…I suppose I will to. I've never had a father. I don't know what to expect or what to do. I've never had to be anyone's _son."_

With that, the two seemed to come to some agreement, some middle ground, and they both seemed to relax a little knowing that they had these feelings out in the open.

"Do you know, sir, if I'll stay in Gryffindor?"

Harry had a little desperation in his voice, he needed one constant for now….

"Yes, as far as I know. Dumbledore shows no intention of removing you from your house, even if you are the first Snape to bear the title...'Gryffindor'..."


End file.
